Level Solutions, LLC. has a utility patent in both the U.S. and Canada for its Hands Free Safe-Tray.

Currently this product is not sold anywhere, however, the company has widespread support from many top quick-service brands and is in current patent licensing discussions with the largest commercial packaging vendors in the world. The Hands Free Safe-Tray has passed rigorous structural rigidity testing and kinematic variable testing at two of these packaging conglomerates.

When it comes to distracted driving, the hidden killer that nobody talks about is food and beverages. Texting and driving dominates the press coverage, while eating and drinking while driving has proven to be just as much of a contributing factor (NHTSA).

This happened when co-inventor James Delaney narrowly avoided a serious accident when a drink tray went flying. The inventors were determined to find a solution.

There have been countless safety innovations related to distracted driving in the mobile phone space, yet the design of the four-cup drink tray that millions of Americans use everyday has not materially changed in decades. Companies have tried to fix this problem before with taller trays. However even a taller tray doesn’t stay stationary during transport. The centrifugal force you experience while making turns or accelerating/decelerating will throw any drink tray, regardless of the height. And it inevitably leads to distracted driving accidents when the driver takes their hand off the wheel to react. The driver’s attention gets diverted the same way it would when reaching to answer a text. 

It took them years to develop and took numerous iterations to finally come up with the best design from both a manufacturing and cost perspective as well as the ease of use for the drive-thru customers. By attaching to a buckled seatbelt, the Hands Free Safe Tray innovation addresses the core problem that impacts the large majority of drive-thru customers by keeping the tray stationary during transport.

The Hands Free Safe-Tray can make drive-thru operations nationwide a whole lot safer. There are 50 million quick-service customers a day in America, 65 percent of which are drive-thru customers. That’s 32.5 million drive-thru customers a day, almost 12 billion a year that can benefit from this safety innovation.

The Hands Free Safe Tray provides the optimal hands-free solution to give drivers the confidence to know their drink tray is secure and they can focus their attention on the road. Level Solutions is currently in discussions with the major molded pulp tray suppliers and are confident they will bring this innovation to a QSR drive-thru near you soon.

Highlights:

• Costs quick serves the same to purchase as current molded pulp 4 cup carriers.
• Does not affect drive-thru speeds.
• The “Hands Free” Safe Tray maintains the structural rigidity of its competitors.
• The Safe-Trays secures to any buckled seat belt, regardless of the make and model of the car.
• States are passing laws that will require fast food companies to utilize a four cup carrier that can be secured in the vehicle.